The Guitar Kurt Cobain Played on Nirvana’s Final U.S. Tour Is Up for Auction

Bidding on the black-and-white Fender Stratocaster opened at $85,000, but the axe is expected to go for $170,000. Bidding closes on May 20, so if you want to throw a heap of money at the instrument, you can do that at Cooper Owen.

The guitar’s previous owner, Guillaume Enault, says Cobain gave him the guitar after Nirvana’s show in Rennes, France, on Feb. 16, 1994 -- not quite two months before the singer’s death. According to Enault’s research, Cobain had five identical left-handed, black-and-white Fender Stratocasters designated for “end of set jamming and destruction.” Prior to Nirvana's European tour and that February show in France, Enault believes Cobain last used the guitar on the band’s final U.S. tour the previous year.

This is hardly the first time Cobain memorabilia has been put up on the auction block. In November, the Nirvana leader’s cardigan (worn during the band’s MTV Unplugged taping) sold for upwards of $130,000. Likewise, Nirvana’s In Utero Platinum and Nevermind Gold plaque certificates sold for $1,000 each. A lock of Cobain’s hair was initially up for bidding in that same auction, but was ultimately removed.